Scorsese Considering Elizabeth Taylor & Richard Burton Romance Pic

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Conceptually we love the idea, but who do you get to play these two icons?

Martin Scorsese is being wooed by Paramount Pictures to direct a film about the torrid love affair between screen gods Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, reported Deadline.

The project would be based on "Furious Love," by Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger, which, judging by the Publisher's Weekly synopsis, sounds as epic as you'd think:

(T)he romance between the glittering Tinseltown diva and the sonorous, self-loathing Shakespearean reprises their co-starring movie roles: it has the passion of Cleopatra (the Vatican condemned their on-set adultery as erotic vagrancy), the riotous merriment of The Taming of the Shrew, the poisonous marital fights of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and a cast of thousands of paparazzi and shrieking fans. The well-researched narrative—the authors make good use of Burton's engaging love letters and diary entries—offers juicy details of his epic alcoholism and her towering tantrums, and is fascinated with the jewelry pieces, like the Taj Mahal diamond that Taylor famously extracted from Burton as tribute or penance. But from the binges and bling emerges a revealing portrait of the magnetic qualities—her vulgar warmth, his soulful virility—that glued the couple together. Here is that rare love story that holds one's interest beyond the wedding—and a reminder, after the thin gruel of Brangelina, of what a feast celebrity can be.

Elizabeth Taylor's 1940s Mansion Available for Rent

In addition to the book, producers also have an agreement with Burton's widow, Sally Hay Burton, for access to his library, and are in negotiations with Taylor's estate.

The Burton-Taylor pairing really is the stuff of Hollywood legend: Falling in love on the set of "Cleopatra," despite both being married, she to Eddie Fischer, whom she'd stolen from Debbie Reynolds. The break-ups, the fights, the marriages... They were quite something. Just watch "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" to get an idea of how deep their emotions--good and bad--were for each other. That isn't just great acting; nobody's that good.